Last year was a little hairy for travelers as airlines struggled to meet surging demand over the summer, and winter weather conspired to snarl flight operations around the holidays – especially at Southwest Airlines.
The Department of Transportation released full-year performance datafor the major U.S. airlines on Thursday, with Delta Air Lines and its regional partners having the highest on-time arrival rate in 2022. Delta was the only airline that had more than 80% of its flights arrive within 15 minutes of their schedule on average last year.
On-time performance does not include canceled flights, which are listed separately in DOT data. As a result, Southwest ranked sixth for on-time performance in Dec. 2022, despite canceling 14.6% of its flights that month.
Major airline on-time performance for 2022
Delta Air Lines (including regional partners) – 82.1% of flights on time
Alaska Airlines (including regional partners) – 79.1% of flights on time
United Airlines (including regional partners) – 78.7% of flights on time
American Airlines (including regional partners) – 77.1% of flights on time
Hawaiian Airlines – 75.8% of flights on time
Southwest Airlines – 73.2% of flights on time
Spirit Airlines – 73.0% of flights on time
Frontier Airlines – 66.1% of flights on time
JetBlue Airways – 64.6% of flights on time
Allegiant Air – 63.4% of flights on time
Overall, the year-to-date on-time arrival rate for U.S. airlines was 76.7%.
What you're owed if your flight is delayed or canceled
Canceled? You're entitled to a full refund if you choose not to travel.
Delayed? It depends. Many airlines will rebook you following a significant delay, or compensate you with hotel and meal vouchers among other things. Check out the DOT's online dashboard or this full breakdown from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA Today